(Seychelles News Agency) - The Enchanted Island resort in Seychelles is extending its brand with a new development on the eastern coast of the main island of Mahe.

The new project -- ‘Enchanted Waterfront’ -- which was unveiled recently will be located near the Wharf Hotel and Marina at Roche Caiman. It will include a boutique resort, residences and a marina.

The boutique resort will have six luxurious waterfront villas designed and built in a contemporary Creole style with ocean fronts offering views of the sea and neighbouring islands.

The development will also feature a beach-front lodge equipped with a reception, guest rooms, a gym, bistro, bar and a swimming pool, serving as the development’s central facility and a private marina offering villa owners an exclusive birthing space.

The waterfront will also be a gateway to the Enchanted Island resort in the Ste Anne Marine National Park.

According to Sunil Shah, who together with his late father Anant Jivan-Shah built the Enchanted Island Resort, the new Enchanted Waterfront project will be done in phases.

Shah said the project will start by the end of the first quarter of next year and will take between 18 to 24 months.

The developer said they will be availing of the government’s Villa Policy, which allows hotel development to sell room stock on a freehold basis, with the owners having the option of offering the villas back to the owners, to be used as part of its rental pool.

“We are hoping to sell two villas off plan to trigger the entire project and then the four other villas will only sell once completed so that people will have faith and confidence in the project,” he added.

The project will start by the end of the first quarter of next year. (Seychelles Tourism Board) Photo License: CC-BY

The Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine, Maurice Loustau-Lalanne, said the project is a symbol of the progress Seychelles is making as a tourism industry, as well as a place to buy a residential home.

“With the arrival of new airlines next year, providing more ‘door to door’ services for the clients from our mature European markets, we need to ensure that the accommodation keeps pace with this demand,” said Loustau-Lalanne.

He added that “this is why we fully support your project, as we diversify the range of accommodation types to suit the needs of our industry.”

Shah, who is of Indian origin, is hoping the project, will hopefully inspire other Seychellois entrepreneurs to follow the same model rather than selling off their land.